Gov't moves to secure 57 dangerous bridges after Seosomun overpass collapse

The government is moving to address safety risks at 57 aging public bridges across the country rated D or E — the two lowest safety grades — with emergency funding and tighter construction standards. Authorities will channel 2.1 billion won ($1.45 million) in special disaster safety grants to the most critically rated E-grade bridges and significantly strengthen safety requirements throughout demolition and reinforcement work.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety on Friday announced the results of a nationwide joint safety inspection of aging public bridges conducted from June 23 to July 10, carried out alongside the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, local governments, the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation and private experts. The inspection was ordered to prevent a recurrence of the Seosomun elevated road collapse.

The inspection covered 115 bridges rated D or E in the Integrated Facility Information System as of May, along with additional bridges where risks were identified during the process.

Of those, 57 bridges were found to require safety measures but lacked secured funding — four rated E and 53 rated D.

The government said it would immediately release 2.1 billion won in special disaster safety grants to fund emergency repairs and safety work on the four E-rated bridges at the highest risk of collapse. It also plans to continue providing additional support for D-rated bridges in consultation with local governments.

To prevent accidents during the safety work itself, the government will also tighten safety management standards at every stage — from procurement and design through construction.

At the procurement stage, contractors' track records on similar demolition projects will be more heavily weighted in evaluations. At the design stage, safety reviews will be conducted to identify hazards in advance. At the construction stage, safety management plans will be mandatory, and work will proceed only after a licensed structural engineer certifies the safety of the approach.

If warning signs emerge during work, crews must halt operations immediately, fully assess any structural changes, and use advanced equipment including drones and CCTV to verify safety before resuming.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety will also continue pushing for improvements to the demolition safety management system through a task force — involving the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Employment and Labor — set up specifically to prevent a repeat of the Seosomun overpass incident. The ministry plans to incorporate findings from the Construction Accident Investigation Committee's probe into both the Ulsan thermal power plant and Seosomun overpass collapses, as well as reform proposals from a separate public-private demolition safety task force, to overhaul the regulatory framework.

"Through this joint inspection, we will move swiftly to provide safety support for bridges that have been left at risk due to budget shortfalls," Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung said. "We will use the Seosomun overpass accident as an opportunity to fundamentally reform safety management across all demolition work on aging structures."